This disclosure relates generally to virtual-world advertising and, more specifically, to virtual-world avatar-based advertising with gestures and predetermined payments.
A web browser (hereinafter “browser”) is a software application that allows a user at a client computer system (hereinafter “client”) to display and interact with text, images, and other information located on a web page at a website (hosted by an application server) on the World Wide Web or a local area network. Text and images on a web page may contain hyperlinks to other web pages at the same or different website. Browsers allow a user to quickly and easily access information provided on web pages at various websites by traversing hyperlinks. Browsers usually format hypertext markup language (HTML) information for display and, as such, an appearance of a web page may differ between browsers. A number of different browsers, e.g., Internet Explorer™, Mozilla Firefox™, Safari™, Opera™, and Netscape™, are currently available for personal computers. In general, browsers are the most commonly used type of hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) user agent. While browsers are typically used to access web application servers (hereinafter “web servers”) that are part of the World Wide Web, browsers can also be used to access information provided by web servers in private networks or content in file systems.
For example, a browser may be utilized by a user to interact with a virtual-world (VW) provided by a VW application server. A VW is a computer-based simulated environment that various users may inhabit and interact with each other via avatars, which are usually depicted as two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) graphical representations (e.g., graphical representations of humans or animals). In a typical VW, perceptual stimuli is provided (via a browser) to a user, who can manipulate (via the browser) elements of the VW and, in this manner, experience a virtual presence to some degree. The VW may simulate rules based on the real-world (RW) or some fantasy world. For example, rules associated with gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication may be implemented. Communication between users may range from text, graphical icons, visual gesture, sound, and occasionally forms using touch and balance senses. For example, real-time voice communication using voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) may be implemented. In general, VWs may encompass a wide variety of applications, e.g., games, computer conferencing, and text based chat-rooms.
One study of VW users concluded that when an avatar performs a behavior, a user associated with the avatar is more likely to perform the behavior in the RW. In this VW study, a user did not have control over an associated avatar. That is, a VW researcher controlled an avatar of a user and then studied the behavior of the user in the RW. As one example, according to the study, when a user viewed an associated avatar jogging in a VW, the user was more likely to jog in the RW.
A number of companies have established a VW presence in order to advertise goods and/or services. For example, companies have provided VW advertisements in the form of billboards and posters, either of which may include hyperlinks and/or menus to facilitate the performance of different actions. As another example, at least one company has provided VW advertisements in the form of a kiosk, which may be configured to teleport an avatar of a user to a different location (e.g., an in-world store of a VW advertiser). As yet another example, at least one company has implemented VW advertisements in the form of an avatar that moves around in a VW to advertise a product (e.g., an avatar that resembles a Nestle' bunny that hops around a VW to advertise Nesquik® products).